Generation Z — Still Not Equal

Generation Z — Still Not Equal

Posted by Claudia Tattanelli on 03/11/2015

Even though employers are only just beginning to discover what makes Generation Y tick, it’s time to start considering Generation Z. Although this generation is just starting to leave high school, it already makes up 25 percent of all consumer spending, and within the next decade, it’ll be responsible for 40 percent. Yet even in the midst of major strides forward in gender equality, the men and women of Generation Z still think somewhat differently. Here’s what we discovered:

Education and Career Choices

Generation Z are heavily influenced by their parents, with 57 percent of men and 64 percent of women saying that their parents have the biggest influence on their educational and career choices. Friends make up some the difference for males with 27 percent, whereas only 22 percent of females are influenced by their peers.

Career Goals

Career goals saw a major disparity, with 46 percent of women and 35 percent of men saying that work-life balance was the most important. In addition, 45 percent of women felt stability and security was important, compared with 36 percent of men. Finally, 34 percent of men versus 27 percent of women believed leadership was more important, and in addition, 21 percent of men felt being an expert was important compared to 12 percent of women.

Career Fears

Finding a job that matched their personality was important to Generation Z, with 40 percent of women and 34 percent of men favoring a career that complemented their self image. One of the biggest fears for women was not finding the perfect job due to gender, a fear six percent of men shared. In addition, seven percent of men worried about finding a job due to sexual preferences compared to only 3 percent of women.

Priorities

Family was the most important priority for Generation Z, but having a successful career, growing and learning new things were much bigger priorities for women (45 percent and 46 percent, respectively) than for men (40 percent and 38 percent, respectively). Men had a significantly higher focus on wealth (32 percent) than women (23 percent).

Work Culture

Generation Z women tended to rate friendliness and views on equality more highly than men (71 percent and 53 percent versus 65 percent and 43 percent, respectively), yet most other attributes were roughly equal.

Generation Z still has major gender differences, and as a result, different genders are more likely to focus on different aspects of organizational culture, with stability and family life more important to women than men. Employer branding must follow suit by recognizing the differences, which will allow them to hire the right people and target their products effectively.